Process
A prepared day that moves.
Mediations fail for predictable reasons: the wrong people in the room, a number nobody prepared for, and a mediator learning the file on the day. Here is how a session with Amber Russell ADR is built to avoid all three.
1
Request and confirm
Email the case style, counsel, preferred dates, and a paragraph on the issues. Dates come back within one business day. Conflicts are checked and disclosed; the date is confirmed when all parties sign the mediation agreement and the invoice is settled.
2
Pre-session preparation
Confidential mediation statements and exhibits are due three business days before the session and are read in full. If the case has moving parts — authority, liens, excess coverage, a missing decision-maker — a short logistics call is scheduled so the day is not spent solving them.
3
Opening and structure
A brief joint session sets ground rules and confidentiality under Chapter 154, confirms who has authority, and lays out a plan for movement: how demands and offers will be exchanged, whether brackets are on the table, and how the time will be used. Long opening statements are discouraged; they harden positions.
4
Caucus and reality testing
Most of the day is spent in private caucus. Amber tests each side’s view of liability, damages, and trial risk directly and respectfully, drawing on what she has seen from both the defense and the plaintiff chair. Adjusters get a straight read on exposure; plaintiffs get a straight read on jury risk and the cost of time.
5
Closing the gap
When the parties are close, Amber will propose a mediator’s number or bracket on request. Overtime is used only when everyone agrees the case is within reach.
6
Documentation and follow-up
If the case settles, the material terms are written up and signed before anyone leaves Zoom. If it does not, both sides leave with a written summary of where the numbers stood, the open issues, and agreed next steps — and Amber remains available for brief follow-up calls.
What to send
A useful mediation statement
- Liability facts and the one or two disputed points that matter
- Damages model or medical summary; for catastrophic cases, the life-care plan and rebuttal
- Deposition highlights, not full transcripts
- History of demands and offers, and policy limits if known
- Anything the other side does not know that will affect settlement (liens, authority, timing)
Who should attend
- Each party with full settlement authority
- Counsel of record
- For insured defendants, the adjuster with authority — on camera, not on call
- Anyone whose sign-off is needed to close (lienholders, excess carriers) or a plan for reaching them
Request a mediation date
Email the case style, parties and counsel, preferred dates, and a one-paragraph issue summary. Response within one business day.
Booking and preparation checklist
- Request preferred dates and session length, with case style, parties, and counsel for conflict review.
- Review disclosures and a tentative date. A request or hold is not a confirmed booking.
- Complete the mediation agreement and required payments from all parties.
- Receive written confirmation and follow the agreed submission and Zoom instructions.
- Confirm decision-makers, test technology, and request secure transfer instructions before sending sensitive exhibits.
Amber serves as a neutral mediator. Her relationship with LOAR PLLC is part of conflict screening, and mediation does not make her counsel for any party. No settlement is promised.